• Journal of Electrochemical Science and Technology
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• v.7 no.3
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• pp.228-233
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• 2016

It is hard to employ the carbon materials or the lithium metal foil for the anode of lithium sulfur batteries because of the poor passivation in ether-based electrolytes and the formation of lithium dendrites, respectively. Herein, we investigated the electrochemical characteristics of lithium sulfur batteries with lithiated silicon anode in the liquid electrolytes based on ether solvents. The silicon anodes were lithiated by direct contact with lithium foil in a 1M lithium bis(trifluoromethane sulfonyl) imide (LiTFSI) solution in 1,2-dimethoxyethane (DME) and 1,3-dioxolane (DOL) at a volume ratio of 1:1. They were readily lithiated up to ~40% of their theoretical capacity with a 30 min contact time. In particular, the carbon mesh reported in our previous work was employed in order to maximize the performance by capturing the dissolved polysulfide in sulfur cathode. The reversible specific capacity of the lithiated silicon-sulfur batteries with carbon mesh was 1,129 mAh/g during the first cycle, and was maintained at 297 mAh/g even after 50 cycles at 0.2 C, without any problems of poor passivation or lithium dendrite formation.

• Journal of Powder Materials
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• v.25 no.6
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• pp.466-474
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• 2018

The high theoretical energy density ($2600Wh\;kg^{-1}$) of Lithium-sulfur batteries and the high theoretical capacity of elemental sulfur ($1672mAh\;g^{-1}$) attract significant research attention. However, the poor electrical conductivity of sulfur and the polysulfide shuttle effect are chronic problems resulting in low sulfur utilization and poor cycling stability. In this study, we address these problems by coating a polyethylene separator with a layer of activated carbon powder. A lithium-sulfur cell containing the activated carbon powder-coated separator exhibits an initial specific discharge capacity of $1400mAh\;g^{-1}$ at 0.1 C, and retains 63% of the initial capacity after 100 cycles at 0.2 C, whereas the equivalent cell with a bare separator exhibits a $1200mAh\;g^{-1}$ initial specific discharge capacity, and 50% capacity retention under the same conditions. The activated carbon powder-coated separator also enhances the rate capability. These results indicate that the microstructure of the activated carbon powder layer provides space for the sulfur redox reaction and facilitates fast electron transport. Concurrently, the activated carbon powder layer traps and reutilizes any polysulfides dissolved in the electrolyte. The approach presented here provides insights for overcoming the problems associated with lithium-sulfur batteries and promoting their practical use.

• Bulletin of the Korean Chemical Society
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• v.32 no.10
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• pp.3682-3686
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• 2011

The electrochemical properties of lithium-sulfur batteries with binary electrolytes based on DME and DOL, TEGDME and DOL mixed solvent containing $LiClO_4$, LiTFSI, and LiTF salts were investigated. The ionic conductivity of 1M LiTFSI and $LiClO_4$ electrolytes based on TEGDME and DOL increased as the volume ratio of DOL solvent increased, because DOL effectively reduces the viscosity of the above electrolytes medium under the same salts concentration. The first discharge capacity of lithium-sulfur batteries in the DME and DOL-based electrolyte followed this order: LiTFSI (1,000 mAh/g) > LiTF (850 mAh/g) > $LiClO_4$ (750 mAh/g). In case of the electrolyte based on TEGDME and DOL, the first discharge capacity of batteries followed this order: $LiClO_4$ (1,030 mAh/g) > LiTF (770 mAh/g) > LiTFSI (750 mAh/g). The cyclic efficiency of lithium-sulfur batteries at 1M $LiClO_4$ electrolytes is higher than that of batteries at other lithium salts-based electrolytes. Lithium-sulfur battery showed discharge capacity of 550 mAh/g until 20 cycles at all electrolytes based on DME and DOL solvent. By contrast, the discharge capacity of batteries was about 450 mAh/g at 1M LiTFSI and LiTF electrolytes based on TEGDME and DOL solvent after 20 cycles.

• Journal of Electrochemical Science and Technology
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• v.7 no.2
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• pp.97-114
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• 2016

Lithium batteries based on elemental sulfur as the cathode-active material capture great attraction due to the high theoretical capacity, easy availability, low cost and non-toxicity of sulfur. Although lithium/sulfur (Li/S) primary cells were known much earlier, the interest in developing Li/S secondary batteries that can deliver high energy and high power was actively pursued since early 1990’s. A lot of technical challenges including the low conductivity of sulfur, dissolution of sulfur-reduction products in the electrolyte leading to their migration away from the cathode, and deposition of solid reaction products on cathode matrix had to be tackled to realize a high and stable performance from rechargeable Li/S cells. This article presents briefly an overview of the studies pertaining to the different aspects of Li/S batteries including those that deal with the sulfur electrode, electrolytes, lithium anode and configuration of the batteries.

• Proceedings of the Korean Powder Metallurgy Institute Conference
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• 2006.09b
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• pp.1216-1217
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• 2006

We investigated on the additive effect of carbon nanotube in the sulfur electrode on the first discharge curve and cycling property of lithium/sulfur cell. The sulfur electrode with carbon nanotube had two discharge plateau potentials and the first discharge capacity about 1200 mAh/g sulfur. The addition carbon nanotube into the sulfur electrode did not affect the first discharge behavior, but improved the cycling property of lithium/sulfur cell. The optimum content of carbon nanotube was 6 wt% of sulfur electrode

• Journal of Electrochemical Science and Technology
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• v.12 no.4
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• pp.453-457
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• 2021

Lithium-sulfur (Li-S) batteries are one of attractive energy conversion and storage system based on high theoretical specific capacity and energy density with low costs. However, volatile nature of elemental sulfur is one of critical problem for their practical acceptance in industry because it considerably affects electrode uniformity during electrode manufacturing. In this work, polymeric sulfur composite consisting of ionic liquid (IL) are suggested to reduce volatility nature of elemental sulfur, resulting in better processibility of the Li-S cell. According to systematic spectroscopic analysis, it is found that polymeric sulfur is consisting of repeating units combining with elemental sulfur and volatility of them is negligible even at high temperature. In addition, the IL-embedded polymeric sulfur shows moderate cycle performance compared to the cell with elemental sulfur. From these results, it is found that the IL-embedded polymeric sulfur composite is applicable cathode candidate for the Li-S cell based on their excellent non-volatility as well as their superior electrochemical performance.

• Journal of Electrochemical Science and Technology
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• v.15 no.1
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• pp.1-13
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• 2024

This paper presents applications of lithium-sulfur (Li-S) energy storage batteries, while showing merits and demerits of several techniques to mitigate their electrochemical challenges. Unmanned aerial vehicles, electric cars, and grid-scale energy storage systems represent main applications of Li-S batteries due to their low cost, high specific capacity, and light weight. However, polysulfide shuttle effects, low conductivities, and low coulombic efficiencies signify key challenges of Li-S batteries, causing high volumetric changes, dendritic growths, and limited cycling performances. Solid-state electrolytes, interfacial interlayers, and electrocatalysts denote promising methods to mitigate such challenges. Moreover, nanomaterials have capability to improve kinetic reactions of Li-S batteries based on several properties of nanoparticles to immobilize sulfur in cathodes, stabilizing lithium in anodes while controlling volumetric growths. Li-S energy storage technologies are able to satisfy requirements of future markets for advanced rechargeable batteries with high-power densities and low costs, considering environmentally friendly systems based on renewable energy sources.

• Journal of the Korean Electrochemical Society
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• v.24 no.3
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• pp.42-51
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• 2021

Dissociation into Lithium-polysulfide electrolyte due to repeated cycles during the Lithium/Sulfur battery reaction is a major problem of reduced battery lifespan. We searched for a porous carbon with a large specific surface area that infiltrated S to prevent liquid Lithium-polysulfide from being dissolved in electrolyte, induce adsorption of Lithium-polysulfide, and further increase conductivity. In order to obtain porous carbon spheres with a large specific surface area, the carbon spheres of 1939 m²/g were raised to 2200 m²/g through additional KOH treatment. In addition, through heat treatment with S, a carbon sulfur compound containing 75 wt% of S was fabricate and material analysis was conducted on the possibility of using the cathode material. The electrochemical characteristics of the Reference (622; sulfur: 60%, conductive material: 20%, binder: 20%) pouch cell and the pouch cell made using 75wt% of carbon sulfur compound were analyzed. 75wt% of carbon sulfur pouch cell showed a 20% increase in lifespan and 10% improvement in C-rate compared to the Reference pouch cell after 50 cycles.

• Journal of the Korean Electrochemical Society
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• v.27 no.1
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• pp.47-54
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• 2024

In this study, ZIF67/rGO was used to minimize the battery life degradation due to the insulating properties of sulfur and the elution of lithium polysulfide. ZIF67 wrapped in rGO creates more space within the carbon sponge and can hold a large amount of sulfur. The sulfur@ZIF67/rGO composite was synthesized and prepared as a sponge to enhance the sulfur retention capacity. The result showed a high initial capacity, with a value of about 1093 mAh g^-1 and a capacity retention rate of 84% after 100 cycles. The high interaction with sulfur through the complexation of cobalt and carbon confirmed that ZIF67/rGO exhibits high performance as a carrier for sulfur, the anode active material of lithium-sulfur batteries, and the high initial capacity and improved capacity retention rate were confirmed.

• Korean Chemical Engineering Research
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• v.55 no.4
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• pp.483-489
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• 2017

The loss of the sulfur cathode material through dissolution of the polysulfide into electrolyte causes a significant capacity reduction of the lithium-sulfur cell during the charge-discharge reaction, thereby debilitating the electrochemical performance of the cell. We addressed this problem by using a chemical and physical approach called reduction of polysulfide dissolution through direct coating functional inorganic (graphene oxide) or organic layer (polyethylene oxide) on electrode, since the deposition of external functional layer can chemically interact with polysulfide and physically prevent the leakage of lithium polysulfide out of the electrode. Through this approach, we obtained a composite electrode for a lithium-sulfur battery (sulfur: 60%) coated with uniform and thin external functional layers where the thin external layer was coated on the electrode by solution coating and drying by a subsequent heat treatment at low temperature (${\sim}80^{\circ}C$). The external functional layer, such as inorganic or organic layer, not only alleviates the dissolution of the polysulfide electrolyte during the charging/discharging through physical layer formation, but also makes a chemical interaction between the polysulfide and the functional layer. As-formed lithium-sulfur battery exhibits stable cycling electrochemical performance during charging and discharging at a reversible capacity of 700~1187 mAh/g at 0.1 C (1 C = 1675 mA/g) for 30 cycles or more.